We showed you the Lancia Thema in the previous post, which is essentially a Chrysler 300 with an Italian name, and here are the other members of the new Chrysler based Lancia range of cars. Meet the Lancia Grand Voyager and the Lancia Flavia sedan and convertible.

Like the Thema, these “new Lancias” are largely unchanged from the American cars they were based on, and in the case of the MPV, Lancia didn’t even bother changing its name! The Voyager has been a mainstay in the segment for 27 years now, selling thirteen million units in 120 countries in the process, so perhaps that’s why Lancia isn’t changing its identity. The Grand Voyager replaces Lancia’s previous MPV, Phedra, which is a twin of the Citroen C8 and Fiat Ulysse.

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Called the Chrysler Town & Country in America, the current Grand Voyager is 5.14 metres long and 1.99 m wide, so it’s a huge box that’s even bigger than a Hyundai Starex. Main features include Stow ‘n Go seats in 2-2-3 formation and electric tailgate and sliding doors. It’s a Lancia so interior trim is more luxurious than if it was a Chrysler. The Grand Voyager is be powered by a Euro 5 rated 2.8L CRD engine with 163 hp/360 Nm or a 283 hp 3.6 V6 petrol.

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Also converted is the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible, which will be called the Lancia Flavia, reviving a nameplate from the 1960s. This younger brother to the Chrysler 300 is a revamped Sebring with a new name, in hope that it will offer better challenge to mid-sized stalwarts like the Camry and Accord. The 200 Convertible was unveiled last month. It’s a four-seater with the choice of a retractable hard top or a cloth soft top.

Those who remember the old days where Lancias were beautiful, exotic and race winning will cringe at the sight of these. I’ve unearthed something and would like to share it with you. Look out for it after the jump.


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© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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We’ve known since mid last year that Lancia will sell rebadged Chryslers after Fiat bought a stake in the American company. The Lancia Delta appeared at last year’s Detroit show as a Chrysler and the upcoming Geneva show will see the just revamped Chrysler 300 show up in Switzerland as a Lancia, the new Lancia Thema to be exact.

This revives the Thema nameplate, which Lancia used for its big saloon in the 80s. If the original Thema was famous for having a version that used a Ferrari V8 engine, today’s Thema will be motivated by less exciting powerplants. There will be three V6 options – Chrysler’s 292 hp/353 Nm 3.6L Pentastar V6 with an 8-speed automatic ‘box and two 3.0L diesels (190 or 224 hp) with a 5-speed auto. All are Euro 5 compliant.

The petrol has the best performance figures – top speed of 230 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 7.2 seconds – but the Italian VM supplied oil burners will be more popular in Europe, especially the higher powered version with 550 Nm from 1,600-2,800 rpm.

Lancia focuses on style and luxury these days, so their 300 will get an option of Nappa leather and a Poltrona Frau leather-covered dashboard, as well as real wood inserts on the centre console, panels, doors and steering wheel. The seats feature four-way lumbar adjustment with up/down and front/back direction actuators and density adjuster plus S-shaped “serpentine spring suspension”. Best in class cabin isolation is also talked about. The two trim levels are called Gold and Platinum.

The Thema will go on sale from October 2011 in Europe. Click here to see the donor Chrysler.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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The internet has been brewing with speculation and spyshots of what seems to be a new redesigned retro-futuristic Lancia Stratos. This concept first previewed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005 by a design company called Fenomenon Ltd. Unfortunately due to financing issues, the project was sidelined.

Recently, a rich financier by the name of Michael Stoschek and his son Maximilian commissioned the build of a one-off model of the legendary rally car. Stoschek is the owner and CEO of successful auto parts company Browse KG.

Not much information has been released about the car apart from the fact that the car will be built by Pininfarina. It uses the same platform and running gear as the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, which includes a 510hp 4.3 litre V8 engine.

Information from its dedicated website states that the project began in 2008 and Jason Castriota, who now works for Saab, worked on the design while at Pininfarina. His duties were taken over by Luca Borgogno, after Castriota left for Bertone. There also may be a chance that a limited run of 25 models might be produced, but that has yet to be officially confirmed. More details about the car will be released soon.

Look after the jump for a picture gallery.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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This is the Lancia Delta HF Integrale, which was just recently announced as the “greatest hot hatch of all time” according to a vote participated by over 3,500 Autocar UK readers. The Delta HF Integrale garnered 14.3% of votes, almost double that of its nearest challenger, the Peugeot 205 GTi, followed by the original Ford Focus RS with 7.7% of the votes.

It’s sad that in today’s times neither Peugeot or Lancia are known for their hot hatches anymore. In fact Lancia has been reduced to a brand that sells what’s basically Fiats with sometimes slightly longer wheelbases and slightly better trim.

And the latest news is that the Lancia brand will basically be used to sell rebadged Chryslers in Europe, with the Chrysler brand being officially pulled out of the continent, except for UK and Ireland where Lancia has not been sold since 1991, so the Chrysler badge will remain in those two countries. It’s going to be a strange situation similar to that of Vauxhall and Opel where a set of cars will be sold as Opels all around Europe except for UK where they’re sold as Vauxhalls.

Chrysler cars that will get a new Lancia badge soon include the next generation PT Cruiser and Sebring replacements, the current generation Chrysler 300C and an updated Chrysler Voyager, which is sold in the US as the Chrysler Town & Country.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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This third generation Lancia Delta was the sole Lancia car at the 2010 Detroit show’s Fiat-Chrysler stand which consisted of all the Chrysler and Fiat brands including Ferrari and Maserati.

The only thing is, this sole Lancia wasn’t exactly a Lancia. Instead it had Chrysler badges on it. It didn’t even have its own nameplate – it was simply called a Chrysler.

The Lancia Delta is essentially built on a long wheelbase (+100mm) Fiat C platform, the same base as the Fiat Bravo. In American terms that makes it somewhat of a CD car like the Ford Fusion and the Chrysler Sebring.

Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery of the Delta.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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Apart from planning to launch the Delta Executive and to showcase the Delta Hardblack at the Geneva Motor Show, Italian-based Lancia will also debut the Ypsilon and Musa with the “Ecochic” insignia, which features the ability to be fueled by conventional gasoline as well as LPG.

The 4-seater mini MPV you see above is the Lancia Musa, which is powered by a 1.4 litre BiFuel engine that is good for 77HP. The same engine, which has a system that can automatically switch between using gasoline or LPG is also fitted in the Lancia Ypsilon.

LPG gas is stored in a container that can store up to 39 litres of gas that is fitted in the spare wheel housing. To help compensate for a spare wheel, a tire inflation kit comes as standard. To enable the 1.4 litre engine to be fueled with LPG, Lancia, via Fiat’s Powertrain Techologies has modified the cylinder head with new valves and seats, and has also added a special inlet system to accommodate the LPG injectors.

With a full tank of fuel and LPG, both vehicles can deliver excellent fuel consumption figures. Out of 1,300 kilometers of driving range, the Lancia Ypsilon can deliver 425 kilometers with LPG while the balance 875 kilometers is achieved with gasoline. With a total of 1,200 kilometers of driving range, the Lancia Musa can deliver 419 kilometers with LPG and 781 kilometers with gasoline. Both Ypsilon and Musa models also produce 119 grams and 120 grams of emissions per kilometer, respectively.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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Italian based auto maker Lancia will be unveiling the Delta Executive as well as the Delta Hardblack show car at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland.

The Lancia Delta Executive is positioned as a premium, chauffeur-driven vehicle with a number of features that are worthy of the premium treatment including a semi-automatic Magic Parking system that should function like Volkswagen’s Park Assist that in available in the VW Tiguan.

In the Tiguan, the driver only needs to accelerate and brake and leave the steering to designated sensors to perform parallel parking. Other features include; electronic variable damping suspension, Diamond-edged alloy wheels and LED daytime running lights as well as a jet-back roof treatment on top of the copper-toned body. It also comes with a rather spacious rear cabin.

The auto maker revealed that the Delta Executive is powered by the new 1.8 litre DiTurboJet power plant which is coupled with a 6 speed automatic transmission. The 200HP engine is capable of delivering a 0 to 100 km/h sprint figure of 7.4 seconds, and a top speed of 230 km/h. Fuel consumption wise, it consumes 7.8 litre for every 100 kilometers traveled and it produces only 185 grams of emissions per kilometer.

The Lancia Delta Hardblack on the other hand is a show car which features a slightly up-rated version of the 1.8 litre DiTurboJet power plant used in the Executive. This Hardblack show car is treated to a sporty styling with a Lava Black paint finish. Alcantara Starlite black finish on the inside also breathes “sportiness”. Continue reading to view an image of the Delta Executive’s interior as well as an image of the Delta Hardblack.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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A television ad that Lancia produced for its new Delta hatchback has angered China as it touched on the sensitive issue on Tibet’s attempts to gain independence from China.

The commercial shows actor Richard Gere driving the Lancia Delta in a Tibetan village where he makes a hand print in the snow with a young Tibetan monk. Richard Gere has been well known to speak out publicly against China’s Tibet policies. The ad ends with the message “The power to be different”… a hidden (or not so hidden) message about Tibet not wanting to be a part of China? Delta is also the symbol of “difference” in maths.

Fiat has issued an apology to the People’s Republic of China over an misinterpretations of its position of neutrality and said that the use of Richard Gere in the ad does not mean Fiat endorsed his political views, however a top Fiat official said the ad was “politically advanced” and since Lancia did not sell cars in China, it was free to comment on the whole Tibet-China issue.

Unfortunately Fiat does sells cars in China, albeit that is another hairy situation as it does not actually have any cars to sell now, still being in a transition period from its partnership with Nanjing to its new partnership with Chery.

View the “offending” ad after the jump.

VIDEO: Lancia Delta Richard Gere Ad

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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Sometime in May this year Fiat announced that it would revive the Topolino name for a range of small cars that could potentially also include one that has electric drive, as the Fiat Phylla concept hinted. The new Fiat Topolino variants will be built at the recently acquired Zastava plant in Serbia. Above is an artist’s impression of what the new Fiat Topolino could look like. The Lancia-like grille is similiar to the grille that the classic original Fiat Topolino had, and would not be totally off as Fiat intends to market an upmarket version of the Topolino as a Lancia.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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The new Lancia Delta will be unveiled at the 2008 Geneva auto show and it will be the first Lancia to be launched since the Lancia Musa minivan in 2004. It will go on sale in 2010. Lancia intends to sell 70,000 Lancia Deltas annually, with 50% of that in Lancia’s homeland of Italy. It will be produced in the Cassino plant, along with the Fiat Bravo and Croma models. Both right hand drive and left hand drive models will be produced.

We first saw signs of the new Delta in the Delta HPE Concept shown before, and this production version has softer lines but still generally looks like the concept. From photos especially the side profile you can see it looks very much like a Fiat Bravo, and in reality the Delta is in fact based on a stretched Fiat Bravo platform, which is 100mm longer at 2700mm. The car is 4500mm long, 1800mm wide and 1500mm tall.

The interior also is obviously a restyling of the Bravo’s interior. You get a Bose Hi-Fi radio incorporating a CD player and MP3 file reader with steering-wheel mounted controls, and of course the Blue & Me in-car entertainment controls developed with Microsoft that was also in the Bravo.

The Lancia Delta will come with a range of turbocharged engines producing power outputs ranging from 120 horsepower up to 200 horsepower, and these engines are mix-matched to a range of manual, automatic and computer-controlled clutch manuals.

More photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
Lancia Delta HPE Concept
Fiat Bravo GT 1.4 T-JET 150hp Short Test Drive

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© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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So you’ve seen a go-kart going out of it’s territory and entering the car’s playground – the empty highways of Quebec City in Canada. The cars have decided to twist this irony around the other way – after the jump you will find a video of a Lancia Delta S4 having some fun in a little go-kart track. Look at the way that little hatch changes directions!

The Lancia Delta S4 was a WRC car similiar to the Peugeot 405 T16 you saw in an earlier video. It had a 1.8 litre engine that used both supercharging and turbocharging, not unlike Volkswagen’s new award-winning 1.4 litre TSI engine. Output was more than 550 horses with minimal turbo lag thanks to dual forced induction.

Video: Lancia Delta S4 on go-kart track

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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This is the new Lancia Delta HPE Concept, which will be shown to the public at the Paris Motor Show, with a production version to roll off the lines sometime in 2008. The Lancia Delta HPE Concept is 4.5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 1.5 meters high, with a wheelbase of 2.7 meters. Trunk capacity is about 400 litres, which is not too bad. The Honda City has a 500 litre trunk while the Audi A4 has a 460 litre trunk.

The Lancia Delta HPE will be based on the new Fiat Bravo platform, and it’s expected that the car will come with a few engine options – 1.4 turbo with either 120PS or 150PS, a 1.8 turbo with 190PS, and two turbodiesels, a 1.6 oil burner with 120PS and a bigger 2.0 oil burner with 165PS.

The original Lancia Delta was a hatchback that was pretty successful, and it had a performance model called the Lancia Delta HF Integrale, fully geared up with a turbocharged engine and an AWD drivetrain. Some of you might be foreign to the name Lancia, an Italian automobile manufacturer which is somewhat less well known than it’s other Fiat Group siblings – Fiat, and Alfa Romeo. However, Lancia has clocked up the most WRC manufacturer’s championship victories so far in the history of the race. Lancia’s rally-equipped Delta HF Integrale was the car responsible for dominating the World Rally Championship, scoring 46 WRC victories overall and winning the Constructors Championship six times in a row from 1987 to 1992, a record.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:45:08 +0000.

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